How the Cloud Will Change Operating Systems

Operating systems exist to allow users to run programs and store and retrieve data from one user session to the next. As discussed in Chapter 8, “Virtualization,” most server operating systems now support and will continue to support hypervisors that allow multiple (and possibly different) operating systems to run simultaneously. Virtualized servers will continue to play a large role in driving the behind-the-scenes operation of the cloud.

As also discussed in Chapter 8, many organizations are going to an operating-system-on-demand model for which servers download a user’s operating system, applications, and environment settings to any PC the user logs in to. With the advent of more programs that run within a browser, there may be much less need for powerful desktop operating systems, such as Windows and Mac OS. If you doubt that statement, note the rapid user adoption of smartphones that feature scaled-down operating systems and applications.